Ruins of prehistoric tomb found: ‘A feat of Neolithic engineering’

Excavations in the Orkney Islands (Scotland) have revealed the ruins of a huge tomb, which scientists have described as a “feat of Neolithic engineering”. Traces discovered more than 100 years ago have inspired archaeologists to conduct additional searches at the site of an ancient object that is 5,000 years old.

The ruins of a 5,000-year-old tomb have been discovered in Orkney in a structure that reflects the pinnacle of Neolithic engineering in northern Britain, The Observer writes.

Fourteen articulated skeletons of men, women and children – two of them arranged as if they were hugging – were found in one of the six chambers, or side rooms.

The tomb is over 15 meters in diameter and contains a stone structure, accessed through a long passage about seven meters long. The excavations were led by Dr Hugo Anderson-Wymark, Senior Curator of Prehistory (Neolithic) at National Museums Scotland, and Vicky Cummings, Professor of Neolithic Archeology at Cardiff University.

Anderson-Wymark recalled the “incredible excitement” when scientists removed the top layer of soil and were able to see the general layout of this tomb – a circular shape with a rectangular chamber surrounded by six cells with curved backs. He said: “Seven or eight meters across is a really big interior. Not only did we find the tomb, but we also found articulated skeletons – that’s the icing on the cake.”

He noted that the cornice design involved gradually building up stones to create cellular chambers that narrowed as they rose: “It’s truly a feat of engineering. The tomb would have been a huge feature of the landscape when it was originally built and the stonework inside would have been very impressive.”

Until now, the site has gone unnoticed as it was razed to the ground and largely destroyed without any records in the 18th or 19th centuries, when the stone was used to construct a nearby building, which was demolished about ten years ago. writes The Observer.

Further excavations of the ruins by a farmer’s son in 1896 revealed traces of enclosure and revealed a stone mace head and ball, as well as eight skeletons. These finds were reported in a local newspaper by the antiquarian James Walls Cursiter, who suggested that it was a ruined tomb, but did not realize its significance or age as he had only seen part of it.

Described at the time as a “chambered cairn,” it was only a couple of paragraphs long, which Anderson-Wymark discovered by chance during another study. This inspired him to track down this site. With the help of students from the University of Central Lancashire and local volunteers, evidence of a large cairn has been uncovered during a three-week excavation at Holm, East Mainland.

Most Neolithic tombs survive in Orkney as towering monuments, but the Hill tomb was buried beneath green, rolling fields.

Anderson-Wymark said: “Orkney is exceptionally rich in archaeology, but we never expected to find a tomb of this size in such a small-scale excavation. It is incredible to think that this once impressive monument was almost lost without any records.”

Cummings adds: “It is incredibly rare to find such burials, even in well-preserved chamber tombs, and these remains will provide new insight into all aspects of the lives of these peoples.”

A small motif remains – three lines and other scratches carved on the back of one of the stones.

Through DNA testing and other research it is now possible to find out whether all the people buried there were related, and their connections to other Orkney tombs, some of which may have been in use for generations or hundreds of years.

Anderson-Wymark says, “They certainly put bodies on top of bodies, but they seemed to disintegrate over a period of time.”

The entrance may have been blocked off with a stone slab, allowing them to return inside, perhaps for various events and ceremonies in the main hall.

The tomb dates from around 3000 BC, when local communities had been farming Orkney for several hundred years. They focused on raising cattle, and thousands of years later the field is still used for cattle ranching.